Polish Pottery

Polish Pottery   watercolor   9 x 19

is powerful, eye-catching and comforting in a folksy kind of way.  Each piece is individual, allowing the user to know which cup is his.  It is also full, full, full of detail.  What was I thinking?  A complete battle was waged within me as I worked.  For me, the overall shapes and rhythms are far more important than the detail.  But, isn't Polish pottery all about the detail?  To and Fro.  Push and Pull.  Again and Again.  This is my final answer.

I need some coffee.

Understanding the Nature of Things

...is essentially a drawing problem but it is encountered in painting class when that particular problem has not yet been addressed by the artist.  Things such as:  braids, chain link fences, brick work and rooftop shingles are perfect examples.  We must really understand how the fence is constructed, and how the brick is laid before we can accurately paint it.  The understanding of it is rhythmic.  If the rhythm is described well, and felt, then we need not portray each and every bend of the metal, or twist of the hair.  Sometimes it just takes an understanding of the counter-space, the space left behind, under and between.  If we over-describe these highly-complex rhythms, the power of the big picture is reduced as our attention is drawn to the each-and-every-brick.

Underdone rather than over.  Saying too little rather than too much.  Negative space left for contemplation.

Trusting Intuition...

Dappled   oil/canvas   30 x 40 x 1.5

Trusting your own intuition is difficult to do. But the more it is trusted, the easier it is the next time around.....and the easier...and the easier. I have learned to trust mine, even if it means the demise of a painting. In other words, I would rather take the painting where my intuition leads me, spending more hours of problem-solving, than play it safe. Whoa......did I just say that? "Dappled" lead me on quite the supreme adventure! The color evolved from bright emerald green to blue-green to turquoise. The background started out as a barn, then suggestions of a barn to nothingness. The cropping of the horse kept returning, even though I thought I was changing it. The dappled horse went from solid to transparent to everything in-between. This painting holds the dubious distinction of being the longest-time-wise-painting-ever for me............over 4 months of facing the canvas with nothing more to guide me than my intuition. I checked and rechecked my original sketch. I made more sketches. Can you feel my desperation? This horse lives down the street from me. There were times that I couldn't even look at her as I passed by....too much frustration. I was ready to give up countless times. Lucky I was using oil paint. I knew then that I had arrived when my intuition told me I had. I felt that the painting said what I needed it to say. The essence of dappled. It works for me. Another notch scratched on my studio wall for the unknown.